The books of Ezekiel and Daniel are rich in imagery taken up afresh in the New Testament. Echoes of Ezekiel--with its words of doom and promises of hope, the vision of a new temple and its scroll-eating prophet--are especially apparent in the book of Revelation. Daniel is most notable in supplying terminology and imagery for Jesus of Nazareth's favored self-description as "Son of man," a phrase also found in Ezekiel and one which John the seer employs repeatedly in describing the exalted figure of his vision on the island of Patmos. The four beasts of Daniel find their counterparts in the lion, ox, man and eagle of Ezekiel and Revelation. It is no wonder these books, despite the difficulties in interpreting them, took hold on the imagination of the early church.
